Ancient Romano-Greek buildings discovered close to River Nile

Ancient Romano-Greek buildings discovered close to River Nile

Examples of buildings dating from the rise of Rome have been uncovered following a magnetic archaeological survey on land close to the River Nile in Egypt.

The survey of a site 25km south of the modern city of Rashid ( or Rosetta – pictured) has revealed the remains of a city including a large rectangular structure what is believed to have been a centre for government or religious activities.

Part of the city is dated to the final days of the Hellenistic period (the later days of the Greek city states) and the rest to the beginning of the Roman era.

“It is a very important discovery that explores daily life in the Nile Delta during the Roman period,” said the country’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El-Damaty.

He explained that it also reveals the architecture style of buildings and the mechanisms of urban planning in the period.

The international team includes archaeologists and scientists from the United States, Italy and other European countries.

The site is close to where the Rosetta Stone was discovered in the 18th century. This relic displayed Egyptian hieroglyphs and written ancient Greek – enabling historians to translate the Egyptian symbols for the first time.